...was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. At its peak the force had around 8500 officers with a further 4500 reservists...

303 officers were killed and over 9000 were injured during the troubles (mid-1960s to late 1990s), of whom 277 were killed in attacks by the...IRA.

That's a higher casualty rate than the Brit Army in Iraq, every year for 30 years. But they died in vain - Blair folded to the IRA, abolishing the RUC and replacing it with the Police Service of Northern Ireland - dropping "Royal" to emphasize the new cops serve the Irish, not Brits.

The RUC (and Brit army) had defeated the IRA when Blair took power and folded to the terrorists. Not surprisingly, they've used his support ever since to pursue RUC cops. Here's their latest (my ellipsis):

The Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch protected a paramilitary gang linked to 15 murders while members were run as police informers, a report said today.

The report published today by Nuala O’Loan, Northern Ireland’s police ombudsman, revealed the extent of police...collusion that gave (a Brit Loyalist) and his henchmen a form of immunity from the law.